Ore separator



T. W. AINLAY ORE SEPARATOR April 12, 1932..

3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan. 16 1951 Q *|11 l l www; ,il Ww z A f n (.n l. VIM Wwf/, f .M2/ .mf/ N .r 7 n April12,1932. T@ W. A|NLAY` 1,853,249

ORE SEPARATOR Filed Jan. 16, 1931 3 Sheets-Shet 2 gn/ventola @E @M4K pllil 12, T, W, AlNLAY ORE SEPARATOR Filed Jan. 16, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 www Patented Apr. 12, 1932 Y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE THOMAS W. AINLAY, OF DENVER; C OLBADO ORE SEPARATOB Application vfiled January 16, 1931.. Serial No. 509,175.

This invention relates to an ore separator and has for its principal object the provision of a highly eifc'ient machine for this purpose which will employ .centrifugal force to cause b a classification and separation of the ore according to the specific gravity of its'various mineral constituents. The machine relates more particularly to the type of separator employing a rotating bowl for imparting the y centrifugal effect to the ore.

It has been found thatin separators of this character the design of the bowl riiiie is highly reception of the goldand other valuablel` minerals.

A further object of the invention is to provide adjustable means in a centrifugal bowl ore separator for deiecting a portion of the water from adjacent the periphery of the bowl into the vortex at thecenter so that this water will be constantly reused and will not overflow. This feature becomes invaluable in arid regions. The deflector also serves as'a baiile to create eddy currents in the solution adjacent the riiles so as to prevent sand from packing therein.

A still further obj ect is to provide a renewable bowl liner for a) centrifugal bowl ore 4') separator. The liner is preferably molded from tough rubber. Such. a liner will wear from three to four times longer than a metallic bowl; will reduce the weight of the enti-re machine so as to economize both on horsepower and transportation charges; and will greatly reduce the cost of manufacture. It removes the necessity for machining the riies in the bowl since they can be molded directly into the rubber lining with the assurance that D the riles of every machineV will be exact duplicates with the riies of every other machine. quickly and easily relined, should the riflles become too badly worn for efficient use, without discarding or dismantling the remainder ofthe machine.

Otherobjects and advantages-reside in the detail construction of the invention, which isvdesigned for simplicity, economy, and efficiency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

A In the following detailed description of the invention reference is had to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawings and throughout t-he description.

In the drawings: U Fig. 1 is a side elevation partially in sect1on of one arrangement of the improved ore separator.

F1gf2 is an enlarged cross section of the bowl liner.

l Fig. 3 is a plan view of the bowl employed 1n the improved ore separator with the liner in place therein.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail sectionthrough the edge of the bowl illustrating a/method for maintaining the liner in place therein.

` Fig. 5 a structural diagram illustrating in detail the various angles of the bowl riiles.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the action of they deiiector when the bowl.

perspective view of the .ing frame 9. This is, simply illustrative of an arrangement of the machine and it is desired to be understood that it could be constructed with but a single bowl. The bowls upon a vertical central shaft 13, which passes through hubs -14formed upon the' bowls.

The shaft 13 is suspended in thrust Ibearings adjacent its upper extremity and may be braced at the bottom by means of an additional bearing 15. The shaft 13 may be It also allows the entire bowl to bev 10, 11, and 12 are keyed or otherwise secured The lining segments 17 may be held in place' in the bowls in any desired manner. The segments could be provided with attachment bolts 19 cast therein so that they would project through openings in the bowls.

It is referred to provide an angular retaining ar 20 about the top of the bowl to hold the lining in place. This bar may be formed in a complete circle if desired. It

.- is preferred, however, vto form it in two sections, as illustrated in Fig. 3, so as to facilitate its attachment and removal when the the bowl, asin bottom of the bowl 11.

bowl in place in the machine.

The riilles 17 could, of course, be formed directly in the face of the bowls if desired would contact directly with cated in Fig. 6, and the liners eliminated. The liners, however, have many advantages as before noted herein.

so that the pul The machine is fed from a feed chute 21. The feed chute 21 terminates in a centrall sleeve'22 which surrounds the shaft 13 and opens to the interior of the bowl 10 adjacent the bottom thereof. The overflow from the bowl 10 is received in a surrounding hopper 23 which terminates in a second simi-Lv lar feed sleeve 24 which o ens adjacent the `T e overflow from the bowl 11 is received in a second hopper 25 which terminates in a third similar feed sleeve 26 which in turn opens adjacent the bottom of the bowl 12.. The overflow from the bowl 12 is received in a circular launder 27 and flows from a discharge spout 28 which discharges to the dump or to a second treatment. Any leakage between the bowl 12 and the launder 27 is received on a circular bearing protector 29 which throws it away from, and protects the bearing 15.

Each of the bowls 10, 11, and 12 is rovided with a cleanup plug 30 and each o the ho pers 23 and 25 are ong plug 31 which ows `access to the lug 30. Y l

A blade-like defiector 32 projects downwardly into each of the bowls. The deflectors 32 may be supported in any desired manner yprovided the support allows universaladjustment. As illustrated, each deflector is ivoted upon one leg of an angle clip 33 y means of a pivot bolt 34. The angle clip 33 is adjustably secured upon a bracket 35 by means of a clamp -bolt 36 which'passes through a slotted opening 37 in the angle clip 33. The bracket is to the suprovided with a secv porting frame 9 by means of 'attachment screws 38 which pass through a slotted openj ing 39 in the bracket so as to allow horizontal adjustment thereof.

The above described supporting means allows universal adjustment of the delector 32. 1

v 22 deposit the pulp in the bottom of the bowl 10. The bowl is rotated so as to cause the solution to travel outwardly and upwardly over the interior surface of the liner 17 and across the riilles 18.

The rotation of the bowl creates a centrifugal force which acts. upon the solution and its contained solids causing the heavy desirable mineral particles to be forced further outwardly than the lighter particles. causes the minerals to pass into and be retained in the grooves of the riles 18. The remaining solution overflows at the top of the bowl 10 into the hopper 23 which will deposit it, through the sleeve 24, at the bottom of the second bowl 11.

The action of the second bowl 11 is similar to that of the first bowl 10 and it will act to recover any mineral escaping in the overflow from the bowl 10. The overflow from the bowl 11 is in turn similarly deposited in the bowl 12 which acts as a clean-up bowl to remove any remaining mineral that may have escaped the action of the bowls 10 and 11.

At the end of a run, or as often as necessary the recovered metal or mineral can be washed j from the rillle grooves by means of a suitable hose and allowed to discharge through discharge openings closed by the plugs 30.

It can be seen that in many instances a sin le bowl will be all that will be necessary an it will also be seen that any number of bowls can be mounted in tandem, as ore conditions indicate.

The deilector 32 is very important. First it acts as a baille to break the smooth' quiescent flow of the pulp solution upwardly over the bowl sides so as to cause agitation and eddy currents in the solution as shown at A, Fig. 6. These eddy currents act to agitate and wash the valueless and comparatively light sands from the rille so as to prevent packln of the riilleswith sand and valueless materia The deflector, however, serves still another important purpose. If it is set atan inwardly divergin' angle to the path of rotation it will act to skim-olf the water and thin solu- This tion from the surface of the rapidly revolving wall of solution and direct this water back into the center of the bowl against the feed sleeve 22 as shown at B in diagram in Fig. 6. This returned water will again fall to the bottom of the bowl and travel upwardly over the riiiles. This acts to constantly reuse a portion of the solution Water in each bowl so as to greatly reduce the amount of water overiiowing from the bowl and the wasteage of water in the plant.

As before stated the exact angular placement of the walls of the riiiies 18 is very important. A great many experiments have been made with these riiiies cut at various angles and it has been found that the most efficient results are obtained with the riilles cut as shown in the drawings and more particularly as shown in the diagram of Fig. 5. In'

Fig. 5 a vertical section of one half of the bowl liner is illustrated in diagram. The bowl surface is spherical with its center indicated at C- Let us assume that typical radial 'lines R, R1, and R2 are drawn from the center C through the points P, P1, and P2 of typical riiies and that the groove walls below each ofY these riffles is extended outwardly as shown by the lines D, D1 and D2. Now-let us draw horizontal chords through the riliie points P, P1, P2 and extend these outwardly as shown by the lines E, El, and E2.

Now let us study the resulting diagram. It will be noted that acute angles are formed by the lines DPR DlPlRl, and DZPZR2 which are indicated on the diagram at m, m1, and m2, respectively. It will also be noted that the angles w1 and m2 increase as the bottom of the bowl is approached. This gradual increase of angle from the radial lines is carried proportionately throughout all of the riliies in the bowl. It will also be noted that the angles formed .by the lines EZPZD2 and ElPlD1 shown at y2 and y1, respectively, lie below the chord lines and decrease as the top of the bowl is approached until a plane is reached approximately 2A, of the depth above the bottom when the line PD will lie upon the line PE as indicated at z-z. In other words, at this plane the top wall of the riilie groove will lie directly upon a horizontal chord. Above this plane-the angle DPE begins to increase above the chord as shown Another way to observe the angles of the rilfle grooves is to picture the wall of each groove continued to the center of the bowl. Each would then form an imaginary cone with its apex at the center (see F) and with the groove wall for its base. The incline of each of these cones would decrease as the top was approached until the plane z-z was reached when the cone would disap ear above this plane. The cone angles woul begin to increase but the cones would be inverted as shown by the dash-dot lines of Fig. 5.

As before stated, careful experiment has shown that unless the rifile grooves are cut at least approximately conforming to the above geometric angles maximum results can not be obtained.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is desired to be understood that the same may be varied, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit 0f the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is 1. A bowl construction for centrifugal ore separators comprising: a bowl, the inner surface of which conforms substantially to a portion of a sphere; a series of horizontal, adjacent, V-shaped grooves in said inner surface, the upper wall of one of said grooves lying substantially in a horizontal plane; and the upper walls of the grooves below said one groove being inclined outwardly and downwardly from a horizontal plane.

2. A bowl construction for centrifugal ore separators comprising: a bowl, the inner surface of which conforms substantially to a portion of a sphere; a series of horizontal, adjacent, V-shaped grooves in said inner surface, the upper wall of one of said grooves lying substantially in a horizontal plane, the upper walls of the grooves above said one groove being inclined outwardly and upwardly from a horizontal plane and the upper walls of the grooves below said. one groove being inclined outwardly and downwardly from a horizontal plane.

3. A bowl construction for centrifugal ore separators comprising: a bowl, the inner surface of which conforms substantially to a portion of a sphere; a series of horizontal, adjacent, V-shaped grooves in said inner surface, the upper wall of one of said grooves lying substantially in a horizontal plane, the upper walls of the grooves above said one groove being inclined outwardly and upwardly from a horizontal plane and the upper walls of the grooves below said one groove being inclined outwardly and downwardly from a horizontal plane, the incline of the latter walls gradually increasing in angle as the bottom of the bowl is approached.

4. An ore separator comprising: a rotatably mounted bowl having a vertical series of horizontally placed, V-shaped grooves formed in its inner surface, the upper wall of each of said grooves forming a portion of an imaginary cone, all of said cones having their apexes at the vertical center line of said bowl and successively increasing in incline as the bottom of said bowl is approached.

In testimony whereof, I aii'ix my signature.

THOMAS W. AINLAY. 

